# Puff Monthly Tobacco Review: Dunhill's Nightcap



## Nick S.

Wow, it's May already... How time flies. Since it is May, that means that it is time to review yet another tobacco, up this month is Dunhill's Nightcap. So, if you haven't yet, open up those tins and fire some up! Then when you are ready post your thoughts, comments, and reviews here in this thread.

I can't wait to see what everyone has to say.

Happy Puffing!


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## freestoke

Set the WABAC machine to 1962. A first yearman toils into early morning over tomes of substantial heft and formidable content. Term papers will soon be due and the parties have been numerous. The midnight oil burns, along with bowl after bowl of Nightcap to keep the lids aloft for cramming. The Balkan Sobranie would have sufficed earlier, but as the hours wear on, more nicotine is required to stay alert.

And it's still great stuff, even though the Latakia is now Cyprian instead of Syrian and who-knows-what-else has changed. It still tastes as close to how I remember it as my memory hardware supports. In days of yore, I wasn't versed in nicotine content of different tobaccos, but I knew what I liked and those tobaccos are generally rated medium and strong, rather than mild, these days. Quite frankly, nicotine content never came up until I started posting to these forums and found tobakrevs and heard that people actually had nicotine overloads. Not that I wasn't aware that it could happen, what with stories of dads forcing kids to smoke multiple packs of cigarettes non-stop until they puked as punishment for smoking, it just wasn't something that happened in the normal course of events. (Speaking of which, my first ever nicotine overload came with Happy Bogie a while ago.) For whatever reason, Nightcap has this scary high nicotine aura about it, one of the "Strong" tobaccos on tobakrevs, but it's no Royal Yacht or Irish Flake, which have the same rating. 

The next good thing about Nightcap is the Latakia level. If you are going to smoke Latakia, you should have enough of it in there to make people complain about the smell, but not much more, and Nightcap has the perfect amount for me. I haven't cared a lot for other Latakia blends I've smoked recently. Frog Morton is a very fine smoke, but it doesn't stink up a room like Nightcap. Maybe it's the perique, "...added to enhance the bouquet." I never think of perique having a room note, but I suppose that could add to Nightcap's ambiance. Maybe Latakia alone doesn't smell that bad?

I really love Nightcap, I really do, but if I smoked it like I did in college, my domicile would smell like I was heating from an open fire pit in the living room. I will definitely be ordering some more, though. For my money, it's tied with Royal Yacht as my favorite Dunhill.


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## Nick S.

Wow, that was fast Jim, now you have me thinking I should have placed an order for some... The reason I didn't is because I'm not sure it is what I am looking for in a English style tobacco... So here are a few follow up questions for you... In regards to the Latakia content, where is it in the spectrum is it high like in Northwoods, Pirate Kake, Frog Morton... etc or is it fairly low/ well balanced with the other content tobaccos? Also, have you (or anyone) tried the Altadis Nightcap match? I bought a couple ounces of it a few years ago and never got around to trying it and I was wondering how it compares... Maybe I should open up the jar of it and test it out...


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## freestoke

Nick S. said:


> Wow, that was fast Jim, now you have me thinking I should have placed an order for some... The reason I didn't is because I'm not sure it is what I am looking for in a English style tobacco... So here are a few follow up questions for you... In regards to the Latakia content, where is it in the spectrum is it high like in Northwoods, Pirate Kake, Frog Morton... etc or is it fairly low/ well balanced with the other content tobaccos? Also, have you (or anyone) tried the Altadis Nightcap match? I bought a couple ounces of it a few years ago and never got around to trying it and I was wondering how it compares... Maybe I should open up the jar of it and test it out...


A comparison with Altadis would be interesting, but I'm betting on more PG. I've never had a cloned Nightcap, so I have no idea. I'm trying to remember what Northwoods is like. :hmm: Somewhere I have some, but...I think Northwoods has that Cavendish thing going, so I don't like it as much. Latakia content? Not sure...maybe Nightcap has *slightly* less. I read somewhere that Nightcap is 40% Latakia, but again, I don't really know. I'll guess 35%, just to leave room for the other ingredients. Enough for me, anyhow. :lol: As for Frog Morton, like Northwoods it doesn't have any perique, so it's not the same either, and neither Northwoods nor Frog Morton have as much nicotine as Nightcap. I've never had any, but Frog Morton on the Bayou looks to be quite similar to Nightcap. There's just enough perique in Nightcap to be a little snorky, but it's not overpowering perique at all -- just enough to be pleasant and possibly detract from the room note. :wink:


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## Nick S.

freestoke said:


> A comparison with Altadis would be interesting, but I'm betting on more PG. I've never had a cloned Nightcap, so I have no idea. I'm trying to remember what Northwoods is like. :hmm: Somewhere I have some, but...I think Northwoods has that Cavendish thing going, so I don't like it as much. Latakia content? Not sure...maybe Nightcap has *slightly* less. I read somewhere that Nightcap is 40% Latakia, but again, I don't really know. I'll guess 35%, just to leave room for the other ingredients. Enough for me, anyhow. :lol: As for Frog Morton, like Northwoods it doesn't have any perique, so it's not the same either, and neither Northwoods nor Frog Morton have as much nicotine as Nightcap. I've never had any, but Frog Morton on the Bayou looks to be quite similar. There's just enough perique in Nightcap to be a little snorky, but it's not overpowering perique at all -- just enough to be pleasant and possibly detract from the room note. :wink:


Hmm, yeah I dont really like super heavy Latakia blends but this doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I will break open that jar of the cloned stuff and try it out...


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## gahdzila

I purchased my tin of Nightcap 11/9/11, and opened it 4/22/12.

I suppose it's mostly because I just haven't tried that many, but latakia-heavy blends just taste like latakia to me. There's little complexity, just latakia. Someone on tobaccoreviews wrote that, for him, latakia seems to create "a flavor wall so that nothing else gets through" and that seems pretty accurate for me as well. Maybe I'll be able to pick up more flavors after I smoke more of these kind of blends. I do enjoy the taste of latakia, I just somehow haven't gotten around to smoking many latakia-heavy blends.

And that's what I get with Nightcap. LATAKIA!!!!! It's not sweet (though I occasionally pick up a slightly sweetish note), but not astringent either. Just smoky-earthy-latakia. I read somewhere that there's perique in it....I do pick up a peppery spice on retrohale, so I believe it; but I don't really taste perique per se. I really can't say much else about the flavor experience...it basically just tastes like latakia with a little pepper to me. I know that isn't much, and it sounds boring and one dimensional, but it's actually quite good IF you enjoy the taste of latakia. Hate latakia? Stay away.

I tried a bowl right out of the tin, and found it good...put it in a jar and came back to it a week later and found it to taste even better. I don't know why some blends do that...they just do, and Nightcap is one of them.

It is a ribbon cut, good moisture level, about equal portions of black and dark brown with a few light brown pieces mixed in. It is well behaved in the pipe, requiring an average number of relights.

Room note - Are you kidding? It's latakia. It stinks. It's _supposed_ to stink. ainkiller:

Strength - Nightcap seems to have a reputation for being strong. Compared to something like Captain Black, I guess it is. I found it satisfying without being really strong. At the end of a long day at work yesterday, I had two medium-ish bowls back to back, and at the end I could tell I was nice and relaxed....but no light headedness, dizziness, nausea or any other adverse effects. I'd call it medium-strong. More nicotine than some, but not anywhere near the powerhouses like Royal Yacht or the GH ropes. To me, it's the perfect strength balance.

Good good stuff. I'll be buying more.

I'm more latakia-curious now, too. I have some Billy Bud cellared that I remember enjoying a lot, and some Sterling Tavern that I remember liking a lot but not really _loving_, so I may break into those sooner rather than later. Any recommendations for a blend with an even bigger and bolder latakia presence?


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## Nick S.

gahdzila said:


> Any recommendations for a blend with an even bigger and bolder latakia presence?


Nice review. You might want to give pirate kake (C&D) a try, it has way too much Latakia for my taste but if you love Latakia you may enjoy it.


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## gahdzila

Nick S. said:


> Nice review. You might want to give pirate kake (C&D) a try, it has way too much Latakia for my taste but if you love Latakia you may enjoy it.


Thanks for the recommendation, Nick! A cake sounds fun (I've actually never tried one), and C&D is on sale this month at P&C! The reviews at tobaccoreviews sound like I should enjoy it!


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## roaster

Being new to pipe smoking, let me say that I'll now be scouring all the PMTR threads! Jim, you're a tobacco poet!


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## Desertlifter

Thanks to our good BOTL Gahdzilla I was prepped and ready for this month's tobacco. I've only smoked Dunhill's Early Morning thus far, and have been looking forward to giving it a shot - variety being the spice of life and all that. Early Morning reminded me of Squadron Leader in my small pipe tobacco lexicon, and was an okay smoke although I like SL better.

Nightcap is a completely different animal. Opening my package of nightcap resulted in a latakia assault on my schnoz. The tobacco is well mixed and looks nice, but I get not much other than the latakia nose from it. It packs very well (although this is becoming less notable with experience) and lit easily enough. I did note that this tobacco seems to like a looser pack, if that makes sense.

Firing up Nightcap doesn't lead to any surprises. This is a latakia pipe tobacco, although probably not (in my experience anyway) what one would term a latakia bomb. Initially there isn't much else going on here though, so after stoking things I let it slow wayyyyyy dowwnnnnnnn.

Still mostly latakia and the occasional bit of sweetness coming up to say hi. When I say occasional, I mean occasional - kind of like Uni Flake's plum note showing itself, although less so. Retrohaling didn't do much here either - pretty much the same campfire note with the occasional bit of sweet. As I made my way down through the bowl the perique showed up with a bit of pepper, which was a welcome change. The tobacco burns down to the bottom of the bowl with only a flake here and there left to burn.

Overall I didn't dislike Nightcap, but I wasn't blown away either. I was left wanting for a bit of sweetness to show more often - it seems like a bit more VA would be nice. I also noted that while reviews elsewhere - notably tobaccoreviews.com - list this as a strong nic tobacco, I wouldn't put it anywhere in that range. Maybe that is the cigar guy in me, but there you have it. I don't smoke the pipe (or cigars) for the nic anyway, so that wasn't a disappointment. I think that I like the Early Morning offering a bit better between the two though.

I do have one question related to the nic. It would seem that one would want for more of it in the morning and less at night, so a "nightcap" should be mild while an Early Morning should be medium or strong. Seems odd.


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## MarkC

I received a half ounce sample of Nightcap from John (indigosmoke) back around the time that Dunhill was reappearing in the U.S., smoked a couple of bowls, and decided it just wasn't for me and jarred it up to be forgotten. This looked like a good time to find the jar and revisit this blend. So, after a bit of plundering and grabbing my 2011 Puff Meer (what else for this?), I was ready for the second try.

The first thing I noticed about Nightcap was it had mellowed considerably during it's rest in the cabinet. Where it was once a tongue burning latakia demon, it was now a pleasant smoke, with the orientals shining through, and even an indication (I wouldn't call it an out-and-out “taste) of the perique. More complexity, less pain. Sounds like a good start!

The nicotine kick isn't what I remember, although still strong for this type of blend. That could just me changing over time rather than the tobacco, though. Mind you, I'm not saying there's no nicotine kick, but the first time around, the name was dead on; I wouldn't have dared smoke it unless I was about to crash. Now I can smoke it the evening as well.

The orientals in the mix are nice and savory, and now that the latakia doesn't completely dominate, they really make this an enjoyable mix.

I'd give this three out of four stars; it may not become a 'dominant player' in my cellar, but you can bet three more tins will be showing up at my doorstep in the near future. Quite a surprise after my first experience with this one!

It just goes to show you: if someone sends you a sample and you don't like it, don't pitch it, put it away for another try later...after all, the blend will change, and so will you. You never know; your next favorite could come out of your rejects!


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## freestoke

MarkC said:


> You never know; your next favorite could come out of your rejects!


Now there's an observation for you.


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## Zeabed

I received a tin of Nightcap from Spain in 2009 and may have been tinned several years prior to that. I smoked some of it, jarred the rest and finally tried it again recently. I still loved it and, although the nicotine level remains a bit above my comfort zone, I continue to smoke it albeit sparingly and carefully. Ironically, Nightcap is a morning smoke for me. I haven't tried any nc from my newer tins, but given this experience I will let them sit for as long as possible before I try those.


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## Kelsier

Desertlifter said:


> I do have one question related to the nic. It would seem that one would want for more of it in the morning and less at night, so a "nightcap" should be mild while an Early Morning should be medium or strong. Seems odd.


I think this is a personal opinion thing. I personally like to start with the light, low nic blends in the morning - maybe with a good cup of tea. In the morning I'm mainly looking for something not so heavy that it's going to slow me down. I'm not much of a breakfast person, and if I were to smoke a nic bomb in the morning on an empty stomach I would feel a bit off (a bit of a buzz and an upset stomach) for a few hours. Also I like a nice light blend that doesn't make me do too much thinking after I just woke up. At night, on the other hand, I have a full stomach from supper and can handle the strongest of blends without much trouble. Also, this is when I like to just sit and ponder a nice full/complex blend - especially on a nice clear night under the stars.

As for Nightcap - I haven't had the pleasure of trying it yet, but it sounds like I'd really enjoy it. I'd love to compare the classic to the current version of it and see how it has evolved.


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## gahdzila

Desertlifter said:


> I do have one question related to the nic. It would seem that one would want for more of it in the morning and less at night, so a "nightcap" should be mild while an Early Morning should be medium or strong. Seems odd.


As a former cigarette smoker, me and ole Mr. Nicotine still have a close relationship. I don't need a super big nicotine bump in the morning, but I do need some. Like Tim, I often don't eat breakfast either, so I wouldn't want Happy Bogie when I first roll out of the bed :mrgreen:. It's more of a flavor thing for me...just like I wouldn't want hot wings for breakfast or a bowl of corn flakes for dinner. I've had Nightcap in the LATE morning and early afternoon, and it's a fine smoke for that time, and pairs great with a cup of coffee, but I like something simple and clean and a little sweet for my first pipe of the day (Prince Albert is my current fav).


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## freestoke

Kelsier said:


> *I'm not much of a breakfast person*, and if I were to smoke a nic bomb in the morning on an empty stomach I would feel a bit off (a bit of a buzz and an upset stomach) for a few hours.


Neither am I. I need to wake up, have some coffee (I drink it with milk or cream), some orange juice maybe, before I start on the big boy tobacco. Sometimes I have a doughnut or something, and dive right in, but usually it's PA or something else easy or diluted until I "stabilize". Maybe at night, a heavy does of Vitamin N keeps me from having withdrawal symptoms. I often hear the nicotine-sensitive talk about "going to take a nap" after OD-ing. Maybe for them it would help them sleep, not hurt.


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## DanR

I popped my tin of Dunhill Nightcap last night, and being that I'd experienced this tobacco before I was expecting to be greeted with a nice burst of Latakia smokiness. However, my tin is now nearly 2 years old and instead I found the tobacco to have a very strong musty aroma - I guess you'd expect that from the additional years of fermentation in the can. I decided not to smoke any last night, and gave the tobacco a little air time to hopefully "freshen up". It did, and marvelously so. This morning as I stick my nose into the tin, it smells like a fresh and vibrant English tobacco, with just a hint of that mustiness in the background.

The tobacco was still moist when I pulled it from the tin, so the additional air drying time helped put it at the perfect moisture level for my preference. The colors of the threads of tobacco are very nice to the eyes, ranging from light brown (almost orange) to darker browns and black. It packs nicely and lights just as easily.

The flavors in the tobacco are much more subdued than I remember this being. It seems more balanced, and the sweetness seems to be a bit more prominent now. It is nowhere near the Latakia bomb that it started life trying to be. I still get Latakia, don't get me wrong, but the other tobaccos in the blend have grown up and are making their presence known, especially the Perique. It could be that I have a high sensitivity to Perique, but it seems pretty strong to me, mostly with a black pepper spiciness. Orientals? Well, maybe, but what I'm getting is a base tobacco (probably virginia) that provides a sweetness, aged Latakia to provide that signature "English" smokiness, and peppery Perique. It works great, and I don't feel like I need to be looking for additional flavors - it satisfies perfectly as it is. 

I have a pretty high tolerance to Nicotine, but I can certainly feel the effects in this one. For me it's a good amount, but for others I can see where this blend might hit pretty hard.

In summary, I think I will be buying some more Dunhill Nightcap and throwing it in the back of my cellar for a few years. I think this tobacco improves greatly with age, mellowing out the Latakia and allowing the other components to meld into a pretty nice, satisfying smoke!


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## gahdzila

Great review, Dan! Sounds like I need to put some Nightcap down for a long nap!


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## freestoke

Another point for aging, Dan. I have read that the old Nightcaps were aged for awhile before they were tinned up for sale, a while that's probably been shortened considerably, and probably an aged tin would be more like the old stuff. I think the 60-80s version had Syrian Latakia, too, but this incarnation of Nightcap is definitely still a very good smoke. Nice review! :tu


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## Hambone1

It was just a coincidence that I opened this tin right before May started. But as it turned out, I got lucky and this was May’s tobacco try out.

From the Tin: OMFG! The aroma was delightful to me. This is the smell of pipe tobacco that got me hooked those many years ago. It was delightful! I’d rub this on my wife’s tush and lick it off …. That’s how much I liked it! It was a little moist and in clumps in the tin. I broke it apart real good and placed the whole tin into my daily pouch.

The Smoke: Easy to light and easy to keep lit. I have two pipes I rotate my Latakia blends in, a Boswell Nose Warmer and a Savinelli (filtered piped). Both of them smoked the Nightcap very well. The filter in the Savinelli was soaking wet after about 3 smokes, needless to say went through a few filters smoking the Nightcap. 

The Taste: I am not kin on tobaccos that have a strong taste and to me this was a bit stronger than I am use to. The first few smokes it took me by surprise because I really loved the aroma witched caused me to maybe be a bit too eager to smoke it. I had to dial down the puffs to light sips in order for me to get past the stronger taste that I wasn’t used to. By the end of the tin/pouch I was smoking it by my normal puffing style. It took me a few bowls but I got there. I also noticed a bit more of a nicotine hit that I’m used to. I had attempted to smoke a bowl or two early in the morning, on the way to work. I found for me that the taste was just to strong for that early in the morning for me and switched it to my evening smoke with a nice drink to chase it (Jack Daniels). Very nice in the evenings.

In Closing: I plan on buying a few more tins of this and cellaring a couple but keeping some active in my rotation from time to time. I am very glad I tried this tobacco!


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## Machurtado

Ok guy's this is my first review so give me a little bit of slack. I opened the sample i recived from gahdzila and was a little overwhelmed. I mainly smoke aro's right now and was a little worried that this was going to be a little to heavy for me. However I bit he bullet and lit up a bowl. I was really suprised at how light it smoked I was expecting somthing very heavy with a large amount of nicotine in it. Smoking it reminded me a drinking a very peaty scotch it had pleasent earthy smoke to it but like most have said that was all there was to it. I liked it and am considering getting some to put in my cellar.


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